


Christmas '15

by Lunarium



Series: After You Found Me [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Culture, Brief mention of suicide ideation, Canon Era, Christmas, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mistletoe, Season/Series 02, Some Humor, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: Seeing tensions rise and the paladins homesick for Earth's winter holidays, Coran decides to throw an all-encompassing winter holiday on the Castle of Lions that Alteans, Galra, and Terrans can enjoy.Meanwhile, Keith is still reeling from what he had learned at the Marmora base.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: After You Found Me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579168
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	Christmas '15

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Sheith Christmas Week, prompt "Christmas in Space." Story is set in S2, between “Blade of Marmora” and “The Belly of the Weblum”. The plan is to write a fic for my "After You Found Me" series (still working on the main bulk of the story! And the one chapter is currently being revamped so I can keep Kuron around XD), so these are just holiday-themed snippets! This one is set during canon era! :D
> 
> While working on the timeline for this series, I decided to make the year '15 be when S1-S2 take place, hence the title. ♥️

“Enjoying the celebration?” Shiro asked as he came up beside Keith at the library’s window, many hours after the others had retired to bed. 

Keith chuckled softly. “It’s different…”

⁂ 

Here is how it all began:

Tensions grew thick among the new alliance. Allura had been, quite understandably (even if it meant hurting Keith), uneasy with working alongside Galra, and even the other paladins weren’t completely comfortable with suddenly getting chummy with members who belonged to the same group that had been trying to kill them ever since they left Earth. 

It was all thanks to Hunk, and Coran, for breaking the ice.

“Hey, what’s that?” Hunk blurted out before Allura exploded at Kolivan over some trivial matter one meeting. He pointed at the bracelet made of beautiful jewel-like crystals in pure clear, sapphire, and amethyst tones. 

“A gift and a promise,” Antok responded. “These are given to partners when we know we will be away from one another for the winter holidays.” 

Keith’s attention drew away from Shiro’s side. “Winter holidays?” There was so little he knew about his mother’s side of his heritage that he craved any scrape of new information. What sort of holidays did the Galra observe? How did they observe it in absence of a planet? 

Antok nodded his head at Keith’s comment. “We have many traditions as part of Sargashine.” 

“Oh, man!” Hunk said, interrupting the question Keith was about to ask. “Makes me miss Christmas—Hey, Pidge! How long have we been out here anyway?” 

Immediately Pidge began calculations on a new screen. “Given time dilation…” Pidge paused as something crossed her face. “We should be in December, assuming Earth time.”

“You mean, my family’s all celebrating Christmas while we’re up here trying to take down the most powerful empire in galactic history?” Lance moaned before a goofy grin crossed his face. “Awesome!” 

“The holidays coming up for you, eh?” Coran said and grinned up at Kolivan whose face was as impassive as ever. “Makes me miss a good round of nunvil on Groggery Day! What’d you say, Princess?” 

“Oh…” The rue forgotten, Allura’s face softened as she recalled her old home. A little giggle followed, surprising them. “Remember when Mother would not let me drink nunvil?”

“You were too young then!”

“I’d love to try nunvil now!”

⁂ 

“Different?” Shiro chuckled. “Hopefully in a good way?”

Hugging his arms around himself, Keith cast his eyes to the side.

⁂ 

And so Coran, in typical fashion, transformed the Castle of Lions into a holiday central fit for Altean, Galra, and Terran winter observance, with the help of some Blades and Lance. The library was soon dressed up for the occasion. Festive lights glimmered down on them in the library as they strategized together. Buffet tables were set up with refreshments, and holiday music played on the overhead, sampling festive songs from all three planets.

Keith was sure Kolivan would complain about them not taking the matter seriously, but he said nothing of the sort, and everyone else seemed to enjoy the mix of holiday decorations around them. 

The decorations reminded them what they had to fight for. 

“Looking good and radiant as ever, Kolivan!” Coran greeted Kolivan each meeting. It was customary to compliment others on Groggery Day, which was less about gift-giving and more about giving compliments.

It was also tradition to drink nunvil. None of the Blades had a problem holding the drink down, but the paladins opted for a similar-looking drink Hunk had perfected that tasted far more appetizing on human palates. 

“Oh, Allura, you shouldn’t have!” Pidge cried out when Allura presented her with a menorah for a Hanukkah display in the library. 

“I wanted you to have something for your holiday!” Allura explained. “I thought about it, envisioned it like the picture you showed me, and then…the Castle made this for you!” 

They embraced warmly. Keith watched from afar, a small smile on his face. Despite the tension between himself and Allura, despite the pain at her sudden coldness, the scene touched him all the same. Pidge deserved a little moment of happiness. 

Shiro could be found among the Blades learning all he could about the Galra’s Sargashine. Having been imprisoned for a year, he vaguely knew a little of the holiday, and he wished to understand more. The very thought that Shiro held no ill feelings for the race and their customs despite having been hurt deeply by them touched Keith to the core. 

He watched as Antok placed an icicle in Shiro’s hand. The Blades took Shiro through the ritual: raise the icicle towards the heavens, watch it melt in his palm, derive joy in its symbolism of another winter passing. 

“And when Sarga the First Witch lifted her arms like clouds, the days grew longer after,” one of the Blades recounted. 

“That’s beautiful,” Shiro said, and his eyes fell on Keith, who quickly glanced away. 

“Allura! Mistletoe!” 

Everyone turned around to watch as Lance dashed towards Allura, who looked up, noted the boughs and berries over her head by the vast library window; she then immediately grabbed Lance and threw him spectacularly across the room before giving a victory cry. 

Coran applauded enthusiastically. “You still got it, Princess!” 

“Wait, what gives!” Lance cried out after bouncing back to his feet (Keith had to admit that was rather impressive). 

“Why, you just challenged Princess, hadn’t you?” Coran said. “Nothing like a good spar under the ol’ Trofronggles!” 

“Trofro-what?” Lance whined. “That’s totally a mistletoe! People are supposed to _kiss_ under it!” 

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s a Trofronggle,” Allura said, who was blushing at the Earthian version. 

One of the Blades turned towards Keith and Shiro. “The Galra have something similar: the _imerro_ , except those go under it to propose a marriage bond.” 

“Oh.” Again Keith met Shiro’s eyes before averting his gaze; his cheeks burned.

⁂ 

“Yeah, yeah…in a good way.”

Shiro took a step closer. “Is everything okay? You seem a bit...” 

Keith scoffed. “Yeah! It’s just…I can probably count on one hand how many Christmases I’ve ever enjoyed in my life. Barely remembered most of them with my Pops. The ones I do remember…they’re too painful to dwell on.” 

Shiro nodded in understanding. “Ah. Something tells me you didn’t bother with the holiday while I…was away.”

Keith nodded. Two years. One while Shiro was busy piloting Sam and Matt Holt to Kerberos. The other after Shiro was pronounced dead on the Kerberos mission. 

“Never liked it. Too commercialized. Crowds get into hysterics over buying material crap. Just not my thing.” 

“I remember you saying that when we first met.”

Keith chuckled lightly. “The ones spent at the foster home had been so empty and devoid of the warmth I remembered when my dad was still alive. We didn’t really care for each other in that place. We tolerated each other, the other kids and I and the foster parents, but that was about it. I missed my Pops so much…”

Keith sighed and hung his head. He felt Shiro’s hand on his shoulder. “Then one year, the Christmas spirit bit the town early that season. The air still felt like summer, but everyone was already playing those stupid Christmas songs. I felt so alone and forgotten. I didn’t want to go through another year like it. I prayed I wouldn’t wake up the next day. That was the eleventh of November. I remember that night vividly.

“And then…the next day you were at my school.

“You have no idea just how much you’ve changed my life after that. The hope you gave me.” 

He squeezed himself, unsure of how much further he should go. Shiro was studying him closely, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Always so concerned for him, ready to help him—

The vision produced by his mindscape had been so wrong. How could he think so coldly of Shiro? But wasn’t that just his own deep fears displaying itself? That Shiro would leave him someday, that—

 _And he had, hadn’t he? He had been gone for a year._

No, Keith shook his head. Shiro hadn’t left him. Someone had tried to take him from him. He had found Shiro, and he wouldn’t let him go again. 

So much more had been revealed back at the Marmora base. Not just Keith’s own heritage, but something else. But was it something he wanted to share with Shiro? 

“Shiro…what I said to you at the Marmora base...when I said you were like a brother to me, I…meant it, but…” Keith sucked in a deep breath. “You’re _everything_. My brother in arms, my best friend, my—” 

He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t say those words. 

Struggling, he whispered instead, “Please, don’t ever leave me.” 

Squeezing his eyes shut, Shiro gave a sad sigh. “Keith…” His voice drew to a low whisper as if someone was about to step into the empty library. “You know I’ve been hiding my illness from everyone. I trust only you. I don’t know how much time I have left.” 

“Nothing will happen to you!” Keith insisted, perhaps more to convince himself. “Okay? _Nothing’s_ happening to you! I’ll make sure of that!” 

Shiro raised his head and opened his eyes. “Oh! Mistletoe…” 

Gasping, Keith stopped dead. His stomach gave a lurch as if he had skipped a stair step. When he finally dared to meet Shiro’s gaze, it was find a smile on his handsome face.

“Up for a spar or something else?” Shiro offered a wink at Keith that caused him to blush. “Although…maybe we shouldn’t consider the Galra tradition.” 

Keith laughed along with him, noticing they were inching ever closer. “Yeah, that’s maybe a bit—”

“Yeah,” Shiro chuckled, surprising Keith by how nervous he suddenly sounded. “But I’d love to, you know—I never tell you in words, Keith, but I hope my actions have: you are the dearest friend I have ever known. I hold you in high esteem. You see my heart? What kept it beating while I was a Galra captive were thoughts of you.” 

“Shiro! That’s...disgustingly sappy!”

The two of them laughed. Shiro suddenly swept Keith into an embrace under the mistletoe, and his demeanor shifted: his eyes half-lidded, hunger in his gaze, and his lips just an inch from Keith’s. 

“Although, if you keep saving me, I may just have to marry you,” Shiro said and gave another wink before closing in. 

Gasping in surprise at Shiro’s declaration, his heart bursting in his chest, Keith melted into the kiss and in the arms of his best friend and beloved Takashi Shirogane.

**Author's Note:**

> The _imerro_ was used before, in my fic [Under a twine of green, two lovers do convene](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21750475) (Acxa/Veronica ♥️)
> 
> Sargashine is also covered in another Sheith fic, but that one’s for my Sheith Big Bang which isn’t set for posting until January. Stay tuned for that one! :D


End file.
